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Saturday, October 18, 2014

Stuck in a T.V. Show

I was searching for a fun prompt to use for Writer's Workshop, and spied an idea on Pinterest:

"If you could be stuck in a TV show for one month,

what would it be? What would happen?"

I immediately thought this could be a fun way to get to know my students, plus what a BLAST! I thought they would enjoy imagining this. So, I prepared a little hook, complete with directions using Powtoon. Watch it by clicking HERE.

(If you haven't checked out Powtoon, please do! It is pretty easy and makes for a fun way to present information and ideas - to your class, your peers, parents, etc!)

After they viewed the Powtoon, we met to brainstorm shows that we would love to be stuck in. Some of their choices were surprising, probably because I was thinking Little House on the Prairie or Full House. ; ) We made a circle map with a wide variety of choices. The rest of the day, they had Free Choice Writing because I wanted the wheels to turn in their heads, to gain ideas for planning their stories.

The next day, I modeled a plan. I decided I wanted to be stuck in 'Dancing with the Stars'. I modeled how to plan my story, then I sent them off to begin their plans. Most knew what they were going to do right away, but a few needed more time to think.

The following day, plans were still in the works so I modeled my story. We discussed writing with an opening, first, next, then, last and a conclusion. I turned them loose. They worked and worked and WORKED on these stories.

I love Writer's Workshop. Everyone works at their own pace and I can observe and work with each student as needed. Over the next few days, we reviewed what we already know about writing a story and how to edit. After each mini-lesson, it was back to work.

Once stories were complete, students created products to show their stories. Oh my goodness!! I am so impressed with how hard they worked. They were collaborating so well to teach each other how to use various ideas and each student created a product of his/her own choice.

Students selected a variety of products, such as PicCollage, iMovie, Educreations, and more. One student drew pictures on paper, then made a movie using her pictures while she narrated her story. Here are a few examples:

What a fun way to get to know my students a bit more while also practicing our writing skills!